Saddle attachment.



w. H. HOWARD.

SADDLE ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. a, 1910.

WILLIAM H. HOWARD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SADDLE ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Got. 15, 1912.

Application filed September 3, 1910. Serial No. 580,377.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM H. HowAnn, a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Saddle Attachments, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to supporting-means for riders and more particularly to means adapted to be applied to the spring-saddle of a motor cycle, for the purpose of providing a comfortable rest for the riders back. In devices of this character, it is necessary that the back-rest shall be supported in such manner that it may be conveniently raised or placed in operative position by the rider after he has mounted the, machine and it shall be capable of being lowered for convenience in mounting or dismounting.

The invention designs to provide a rest which will serve. to comfortably support the back of a. rider in traveling and which may be lowered at will,under control of the rider, when he may prefer to ride without the back-rest, so it will not interfere with mounting and'dismounting.

The invention also designs to provide a back which, when lowered, may be utilized as an auxiliary seat for supporting another rider in the rear of the saddle to which the back-rest is connected.

With these objects in View, the invention consists in the several novel, features hereinby claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a motor-cycle equipped with the invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical view of the saddle and back rest. Fig. 3 is a, rear elevation, parts being omitted. Fig. i is a section taken on line 4.-1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5

is a perspective of a brace for supporting the back rest when it is in its lowered position, for use as an auxiliary saddle.

, u A. enotes a motor-cycle of usual construction, to which is adjustably secured in the usual manner, a saddle B. This saddle B is of the suspension-type, being sustained by springs for the purpose of absorbing shock and vibration, and comprises a sub-frame organized of side-bars 8, a cross-bar 9 Se cured thereto by bolts 10, and a clip 10 connecting the front ends of the side'bars 8. A cross-bolt 11 serves to adjustably secure a clip 11 to a saddle-post in usual manner. This sub-frame is rigidly secured to the saddle-post and provides a fixed base or sup port upon which the usual leather seat Z) is suspended at its front, by means of springs 12 and 13 whichhave their ends secured to clip 10 and to a lug 16 secured to the front of the seat b, respectively. The back of the leather-seat Z) is provided with a rigid backpiece 14 extending around the back of the seat and to the sides thereof and this back piece is yieldably supported by the subframe, by means of cushion-springs 15 which are secured to said back-piece and to posts 17. The lower ends of these postsare connected to springs 18 respectively, and a Qcross-bar 19 secures the posts in separated relation, being secured to posts 17 adjacent the upper ends thereof. A rod 20 is bent to form a pair of side-members and extends through a clip 21 which is adjustably connected to the front clip 16 by a screw 22 and serves as an adjustable strut for taking up the slack or any sag in the leather seat 6. The saddle thus described exemplifies one of usual construction, in which the seat is yieldingly sustained and to which the invention may be applied without material change in the operation or construction of the saddle.

A bracket 22 is secured to back-piece 14 by rivets 23. This bracket extends downwardly and rearwardly from the back-piece and serves to carry a pivot bolt 24 for a lug 25.

A post 26 is screw-threaded into lug 25'and serves to adjustably sustain a back-rest 27. The latter has secured thereto, a bracket 28 through which the post 26' extends and a. clamping-bolt 28 serves to secure the bracket and back-rest in assigned position on the post. The front of the back-rest is usually upholstered to provide a comfortable rest against which the rider may lean, and by adjusting the rest vertically on thepost, the rest is adapted 'to comfortably fit any rider. Furthermore, this construction is one which makes it possible to utilize the rest 27 as a seat or saddle, when the post is lowered about itspivot 24, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. A forked brace 29 (Fig. 5) provides a firm support for the rear end of post 26 when the rest 27 is being used as a saddle. This brace is adapted to straddle the rear wheel and has a seat 30 for the post 26, formed in its upper end, and its lower ends are bifurcated to engage the rear axle. When use of this brace is not desired, it may ,be held against the rear forks of the cycle frame, as indicated in Fig. 1. .To secure the bracket 22 in which the post 26' is secured, and prevent it, from being strained to distort the back-piece 14 and saddle B, braces 40 are connected to the pivot-bolt 24 and are connected to the cross-bar 19 by reason of the latter extending through openings 31 in the braces. These holes 31 are formed to .permit a slight relative play of bracket 22 and back-piece 14, but insufficient to prevent excessive play. A locking-member or bar 34 is formed with an opening 35 which is adapted to receive a locking-lug 36 on the lug 25 to which post 26 is secured. When locking-lug 36 is disposed in the opening 35 of the locking-bar 34, lug 25 and the parts carried thereby, including the back-rest 27, will 'be looked so that the back-rest will be securely held against backward movement. The inherent elasticity of locking-bar 34 and cross-bar I!) serve to hold the locking-- bar normally in its operative position and permit its'rear end to be strained downwardly to release the locking-lug 36.

In practice, it is frequently desired to manipulate the back from-one of its alternative positions to the other, while the rider is on the saddle. For example, in dismounting, it is desired to lower the back and for this purpose, a releasing lever 37, disposed beneath the seat 13, has its front end ex: tended into position for convenient access of the rider, is pivoted, as at 38 to one of the braces and has its rear terminal bent lat- 5 erally, as at 39, toengage the rear end of the locking-bar 34. When the rider: on the saddle desires to lower the back-rest, he will raise the front end of lever 37 which will cause its rear end to depress locking-bar 34 40 and release bracket 25, so that post 26 and the back-rest 27 carried thereby, will be free to fall into the horizontal position, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the lockinglug 36 engaging an abutment 41 on bracket 4 22, to prevent the back-rest from being lowered sufiiciently to fall on the rear-wheel. The rider may also manipulate the back-rest "from its lowered position to its operative or raised position, while mounted on the saddle,

'fs ince it is merely'necessary for him to lift the back-rest, which will cause the lockinglug 36 to pass into opening 35 and automatically lock the rest in its raised position. If,

' for any reason, removal of the back-rest and post should be desired, bolt 24 may beremoved, and said parts can then be removed. The invention thus provides a device which may be applied to a spring-saddle of usual construction; which maybe conveniently manipulated from its raised to its lowered position and vice versa, while therider is mounted on the saddle, and which adapts the back-rest to be used as an auxil-' I iary seat behind the saddle.

' The invention is not to be understood'as restricted to the details shown and described,

since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims, without departing,

from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

Having thus described the invention, what- I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination with a spring-supported saddle, a back-rest, supportingmeans secured to said saddle, means adjust- 1 prising a rigid backepiece, and springs for supporting said saddle and back-piece, of a back-rest, a post for said back-rest pivoted to said back-piece, and means for detachably securing said .post and back-rest in position to render saidback-rest operative.

4. The combination with a saddle comprising a back piece and a cross-bar, a supporting-bracket rigidly secured to said backpiece, braces connected to said bracket and said cross-bar, a back-rest, means for -sup porting the back-rest pivotally connected to the bracket, and means for securing the said supporting-means in up-right position.

5. The combination with a saddle comprising a back-piece and a cross-bar, a supporting-bracket rigidly secured to sald back- 5 piece, braces connected to said bracket and said cross-bar, a lug pivoted in said bracket, 1 a post secured in said lug, a back-rest adjustably secured to said post, and means for locking said lug comprising a locking-member connected to said cross-bar.

6. The combination with a saddle, of a back-rest pivotally connected to and supported by the saddle, means for securing the back-rest in operative position, and a lever for releasing the securing-means, disposed beneath the shddle and projecting forwardly thereof.

' 7. The combination with a saddle, supporting-means secured to the saddle, a post 120 pivotally connected to the supporting-means,

a back-rest secured to said post, means for securing the post inup-right position, and

a lever for releasing the securing-means disposed beneath the saddle and projecting 5 forwardly thereof. 3

'8. Thecombination with a; saddle, and a back-rest, of supporting-means secured to said saddle, means supporting said back rest and pivotally secured to said supporting .rest is secured, said porting-means connected to the saddle, a

back-rest, means for supporting thebackrest pivoted to said supporting-means, said back-rest being foldable backward on its pivot from an up-right position to a positiouearwardly of the saddle to serve as a seat, and spring means for securing the back-rest in either of tions.

10. The combination with a saddle, of supporting means connected to the saddle, a bac'k-rest, a post pivotally connected to said supporting-means and to which said backpost being -foldable backward on its pivot from a vertical position to extend rearwardly from thesaddle to serve as an auxiliary seat, and spring means for securing the back-rest in either of its alternative positions.

11."The combination with a saddle, of supporting-means connected to the saddle, a back-rest, a post pivotally connected to its alternative posisaid supporting-means and to which said back-rest is secured, said post being foldable from a vertical position to extend rearwardly from the saddle to serve as an auxiliary seat, means for securing the post in lip-right position, and a foldable brace for supporting the back-rest in lowered positlon.

'12, The combination with a spring Supported saddle, a back-rest, supporting means secured to said saddle, means for supporting said back-rest and pivot-ally connected to said supporting means, and means connected to said saddle for detachably securing the pivoted means imposition to hold the back-rest in operative position.

13. The combination with a saddle comprising a rigid back-piece, and springs for supporting said saddle and back-piece, of a back-rest, a support for said back-rest pivoted to said back-piece, and means for detachably securing said support and backrest in position to render said back-rest op-.

erative.

WILLIAM H. HOWARD. Witnesses: i HILDUR C. PETERSEN, FRED GERLACH.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the commisslo'ner'of Patents. Washington, D. O. 

